Management Reports

Sustainability and Green Practices in the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions

Since 2012, the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions has put in place practical measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve its overall environmental performance. Overall, since 2010, the Secretariat has reduced its carbon footprint by half, most notably due to promoting online meetings and training activities.

Greenhouse
gas emissions: some key figures

2015

2014

2013

Total emissions (tCO2eq)

464

355

697

Per capita emissions (t CO2eq / personnel)

7

5

11

% of air travel related emissions

99

100

99

Per capita air travel emissions (t CO2eq / personnel)

7

5

11

Facility related emission intensity (kg CO2eq / m2)

5

1

5

Climate Neutrality

The Secretariat has been implementing the United Nations Climate Neutral Strategy and has been climate neutral since 2013. Under this framework, the Secretariat prepares annual inventories of its greenhouse gas emissions, takes steps to reduce its emissions and offsets unavoidable emissions. To achieve climate neutrality, the Secretariat has worked with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The Secretariat has offset a total of 1,513 tonnes CO2 equivalent generated in 2012, 2013, and 2014 through the UNEP Climate Neutral Strategy. In October 2016, the Secretariat has entered an agreement with the UNFCCC Secretariat for offsetting its 2015 emissions and those projected till 2020. A total of 464 tonnes CO2 equivalent generated in 2015 have been offset through this agreement.

The Secretariat’s commitment towards improving environmental performance, including through measuring, reducing and offsetting its climate footprint, is an initiative taken for the long-term, and efforts will continue in the future towards further reducing and offsetting its environmental footprint.

More details on sustainability and green practices in the Secretariat can be found here.

Baseline sustainability reports

Reports of the Secretariat’s sustainability team established in 2011 to work on sustainability performance aspects: